Young chefs in training at the False Bay College have won the cook-out challenge by the Ministry of the Western Cape Economic Development and Tourism Opportunities last Thursday.

This is a partnership between the Ministry and the Western Cape Fine Food Initiative (WCFFI).

The cooking challenge featured the talents of students at the False Bay College and the Capsicum Chef School. The event was open to the public.

Both teams, using the products of members of the WCFFI, presented three courses to a panel of judges. Mocktails, main dishes and desserts were scored.

Surprise gifts baskets with ingredients were delivered to the participating colleges 24 hours before the challenge.

The challenge was to prepare a three course meal incorporating the ingredients to be prepared in front of the judging audience.

Participating Hospitality and Catering, False Bay TVET College student, Fatima said she was pleased with the outcome of the challenge and enjoyed the experience.

“I was very nervous going into the competition, but my lecturer was there to reassure us that we were capable and ready to complete the challenge on the menu.”

Alan Winde, MEC of Economic Dvelopment, said the evening provided a showcase of the up and coming talent in the industry.

“Once qualified, these chefs will be an asset to the tourism and hospitality sector. They displayed creativity, attention to detail and delivered high-quality meals.

I wish them well as they get ready to do their internships, with many of them already placed in local hotels.

I am confident many will go on to open their businesses, and bring home global awards for their work.

I also saw a few local restaurateurs at the event, spotting the talent on show.”

Nazeem Sterras said it an awesome event that provided a unique opportunity to our member companies exhibiting their latest and innovative products to a wider audience including restaurants owners, tourism stakeholders, development agencies, government and the consumers.

This event facilitated networking and created a platform for the government, higher learning institutions and industry to engage, the essence of 1 of 6 pillars that forms the WCFFIs objective and purpose.

The event formed part of Minister Winde’s First Thursday programme, which he launched in March 2016.

Minister Winde is seeking to make government more accessible through this initiative.

Each month has a themed programme and apart from networking opportunities, government officials also attend to offer guidance to entrepreneurs.

Join the conversation!

24.com encourages commentary submitted via MyNews24. Contributions of 200 words or more will be considered for publication.

We reserve editorial discretion to decide what will be published. Read our comments policy for guidelines on contributions.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Saving your profile

Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location.
If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a
location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to
take affect.

Your Location*

Weather*

Always remember my setting

Saving your settings

Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.